KEUKA PARK, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team was on the road on Monday evening for its final contest before conference play this season. The Saxons (6-5, 0-0 Empire 8) dominated from the tip to run away with the 81-56 victory.
 
After a slow start for both teams to open the game, Alfred began to get in rhythm in the middle minutes of the first half with a 9-0 run to go up 20-9 at the 10:53 mark.
 
The Saxons were strong in the paint for the remainder of the opening half and held a commanding 43-23 advantage at the break.
 
The rout continued in the second half as Adam Enders (Belfast, NY / Belfast) and Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY / Horseheads) made early three pointers to make the score 50-28 with just over 16 minutes to play.
 
AU went up by as many as 31 points late in the second half on its way to the dominating win over the Wolves.
 
"Great team effort defensively," Head Coach Russell Phillips, said. "We played hard and really competed, which allowed us to separate in the first half. We also shared the ball and shot the ball confidently. It was a good way to end the non-conference portion of our schedule and we'll need to continue to build going into league play."
 
Marshall had a big game on the offensive end for the Saxons with a game high 22 points. Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY / Ithaca) was the other Saxon to score in double figures with 10 points on the evening. Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY / Hornell) scored nine and grabbed a team high seven rebounds while Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY / Olean) ended with seven points and dished out six assists.
 
The Saxons will be tested right away this weekend as they open Empire 8 play against St. John Fisher College this Friday at 5:30PM in Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.